'I'm sleeping in a tent in the woods because I don't feel safe in my house' says anxious tenant in Milton Keynes

A housing association tenant who suffers with severe anxiety is choosing to sleep in a tent in the woods because he does not feel safe in his own home.

The 42-year-oldman, who we will only refer to as Peter for his own protection, says he has a problem with people, often “undesirable characters”, wandering onto his unfenced front garden and looking through the window of his Shenley Brook End bungalow.

And it has made him feel anxious to the point of being suicidal.

For the past two years he has been begging his landlords, Guinness Partnership, to put up a privacy fence for him. He is unemployed and cannot afford to pay for one himself.

"There was a fence there before I moved in but it was taken down for some reason,” he said. “I am in the corner at end of the street, next to a very busy redway, and the only footpath in and out of street runs along the front of my property.

"A lot of people cross over my garden as a shortcut, the nosey ones looking into my windows, leaving me anxious and on edge as I have no privacy.”

In December, Peter’s elderly cat was sadly killed by two dogs that strayed into his garden and cornered her as she dozed on the doorstep.

"I raised her from an eight week old kitten… I’ve been having nightmares ever since she died,” he said.

He also says parcels left on his doorstep, including medication for his mental health, frequently go missing. He caught one offender and confronted him – but is now terrified of the consequences.

"I don’t feel safe sleeping at the bungalow...I feel safer in my tent, which is where nobody can see me.”

"The camp I have made is deep in the woods and I travel to and from there during the dark to avoid people. I take my dog and my remaining cat with me.

"At the moment it's not too cold and I'm used to it.”

Peter is begging the housing association.to supply and fit a 3ft to 4ft high fence around his front garden, with a lockable gate. But he says he pleas are being ignored.

"Guinness have been trying to make everything as hard as they possibly can...I have been completely failed by the system.”

A spokesman for Guinness said they did not think Peter was living in a tent as his home shows “clear signs of occupation”

However, Peter says this is because he goes back there sometimes during daylight hours.

The spokesman said: “The resident’s tenancy agreement clearly sets out the items his landlord will provide and the repairs his landlord will carry out – this does not include a fence to the front of his property.”

The previous fence was supplied by they tenants, they said.

"We have advised the resident he can apply to install a fence himself if he would like to do this and we have carried out a financial assessment with him which demonstrated he had the money to fund this if he chooses.

“We continue to work closely with all agencies involved to ensure the resident has the correct support package in place.”